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Upon seeing what appeared to be a large bamboo mat woven by Song Jingyun, the apprentices were left scratching their heads. The size of the mat was significantly larger than usual, leaving them puzzled. Perhaps their master was attempting to weave something new, and it simply looked like a bamboo mat?
With this thought in mind, the apprentices ceased their speculation and busied themselves with their own tasks.
After working tirelessly for most of the day, Song Jingyun finally completed an extremely large bamboo mat in the afternoon, complete with a cover, allowing a person to lie inside.
Surveying his creation, Song Jingyun examined it for a long time, quite content with the result. He then had the apprentices assist him as he climbed in for a test.
The interior was indeed spacious, affording him some room to move around, although hand movement was a bit restricted.
Following his trial, Song Jingyun decided to modify the oversized bamboo mat, creating a gap for the arms to extend more conveniently, which he believed would improve the design.
Observing Song Jingyun’s busyness, the apprentices exchanged uneasy glances.
“Should we talk to the master about this?”
“I think we should, otherwise it will look quite strange.”
“But the master seems to be quite invested in this. Won’t he be disappointed if we bring it up?”
“If we don’t say anything, I don’t see how this will work out…”
After whispering among themselves for a while, Jiang Dongkou, one of the earliest learners of bamboo weaving, hesitantly spoke up, “Well, master, it’s just that this thing…”
“Is it quite special?” Song Jingyun didn’t look up.
“It is quite unique, but, master, if you were thinking of lying inside for cooling down on a hot night, that won’t work,” Jiang Dongkou whispered.
“Why not?” Song Jingyun asked, surprised.
“This thing, how should I put it… It looks like something, although it’s a bit different, overall it looks quite similar…” Jiang Dongkou hesitated before answering truthfully, “Especially when you lie inside, it looks even more like…”
“Like what?” Song Jingyun inquired.
“Like being put in a pig cage to be soaked…” Jiang Dongkou rubbed his hands nervously.
“A pig cage? What’s that?” Song Jingyun was perplexed.
“It’s a cage used for punishing wrongdoers. They’re put in it and thrown into the river. If they’re lucky, they might survive; if not, they drown,” Jiang Dongkou explained. “But generally, it’s not used often. It’s only for those who break the rules or engage in illicit activities…”
Illicit activities? Song Jingyun pondered for a while before recalling hearing the term from the village women. It seemed to imply marital infidelity or inappropriate relationships outside of marriage…
Song Jingyun, being an upright husband, had never done anything to betray his wife. Well, it seemed that the large bamboo mat wasn’t a suitable item to keep. It might bring bad luck!
Without further thought, Song Jingyun began dismantling the large bamboo mat.
Jiang Dongkou and the others breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
It was a good thing he took it apart; just thinking about it was quite unsettling…
Later that night, Jiang Mixia noticed that the bamboo mat, which had always been on her bed, was missing. After searching around, she couldn’t find any trace of it.
“Where’s my bamboo mat? Have you seen it?” Jiang Mixia asked Song Jingyun, who had just entered the room.
“When I took it today, I got pricked by a splinter. I thought it wouldn’t be good to sleep with something that could cause splinters, so I dismantled it and plan to polish the bamboo strips again,” Song Jingyun explained. “I’ll make you a new one tomorrow.”
Even if his wife wanted to hold a bamboo mat, it had to be one he had made himself. His father-in-law’s weaving wouldn’t do.
“Alright,” Jiang Mixia believed her husband was telling the truth and didn’t dwell on it, taking a hand fan from nearby to cool herself. “It’s getting hotter these days.”
“Yes, it’s quite hot,” Song Jingyun also took a hand fan and lay down, fanning himself before fanning Jiang Mixia.
Jiang Mixia, feeling drowsy, managed to fall asleep almost instantly, despite the intense heat.
However, she woke up shortly after feeling uncomfortably warm. When she awoke, she saw Song Jingyun still fanning her.
However, her husband was clearly exhausted, his eyes closed, one hand supporting his head, the other hand fanning the hand fan. His movements gradually slowed until he stopped, then he dozed off, his head drooping momentarily before mechanically raising the hand fan and dozing off again…
Despite his lack of worldly experience and a somewhat lower emotional intelligence, his intentions were truly pure, and he treated her, his wife, with genuine kindness.
On this scorching day, Jiang Mixia felt remarkably cool and refreshed. However, it was clear that fanning was taking a toll on her husband.
Jiang Mixia took the hand fan from him.
As the hand fan slipped from her hand, Song Jingyun immediately woke up, rubbing his eyes. “What’s wrong, wife?”
“It’s nothing, I’m not hot anymore. Go back to sleep,” Jiang Mixia whispered.
“Okay,” Song Jingyun murmured drowsily, closing his eyes.
After a while, he turned over and fumbled, placing Jiang Mixia’s hand on himself. It seemed like he was afraid she might take her hand away, so he just held onto it.
Jiang Mixia thought to herself, “It’s so hot. I’d rather have you hold the hand fan!”
Speaking of the hand fan, the one she had was made from palm leaves. While it was relatively lightweight, it still had some weight to it, and after a while, it became tiring. If it was a folding fan, it would be lightweight enough, but due to its thin and breathable material, it wouldn’t provide much airflow.
If only there was a fan that was lighter than a hand fan but more practical than a folding fan…
As Jiang Mixia pondered, she gradually drifted off to sleep.
The next day, after finishing breakfast, she and Song Jingyun went to the bamboo weaving workshop to find a suitable bamboo strip cutting knife.
The knives used in the past were essentially thicker and more robust than ordinary woodcutting knives, designed for easy splitting. While suitable for skilled hands, they proved quite challenging for apprentices, making it difficult to precisely control the width and thickness of the bamboo strips.
Since they were running a workshop, the products needed to adhere to certain standards to ensure quality.
Therefore, Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun spent a long time developing a new type of splitting knife.
The knife was secured on a wooden frame, creating a fixed gap between the two blades. This allowed for consistent width and thickness in the bamboo strips. With uniform dimensions, the weaving process became smoother, resulting in higher-quality products.
To accommodate the production of different items, the gaps between the blades were adjusted to various sizes and labeled accordingly. This ensured that each type of bamboo strip was cut to the correct specifications, preventing confusion and ensuring order.
After a thorough search, Jiang Mixia found the thinnest bamboo strip cutting knife, suitable for crafting waterproof bamboo boxes.